Display base

ABSTRACT

A knocked-down pedestal display base capable of being set up with one securing means including a central member, two pairs of similar legs, each leg including a vertically disposed section and an outwardly extending foot section, the vertically disposed section of one pair of legs being adapted to be secured to the central member and aligned in the same plane, the second pair of legs including lugs adapted for securing one end of the vertically disposed sections of the second pair of legs to the central member and securing means for securing the other end of the vertically disposed sections of the second pair of legs to the central member.

United States Patent Kantor et al.

[451 May16,1972

[541 DISPLAY BASE [22] Filed: Apr. 6, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 25,894

[52] U.S.Cl.. ...248/161,2l l/l82,248/l88.7

2,673,590 3/1954 Hamilton ..248/l88.7 X 3,323,833 6/1967 Kasparian..248/l88.7 X 3,032,307 5/1962 Nelson et al..... ..248/l88.7 2,508,6945/1950 Steed ..248/188.7 X 3,358,95l 12/1967 Carter ..242 /188.7 X

Primary E.\'aminerJ. Franklin Foss Att0rneyPaul .l. J uettner [57]ABSTRACT A knocked-down pedestal display base capable of being set upwith one securing means including a central member, two pairs of similarlegs, each leg including a vertically disposed section and an outwardlyextending foot section, the vertically disposed section of one pair oflegs being adapted to be secured to the central member and aligned inthe same plane, the second pair of legs including lugs adapted forsecuring one end of the vertically disposed sections of the second pairof legs to the central member and securing means for securing the otherend of the vertically disposed sections ofthe second pair of legs to thecentral member.

8 Claims, 3' Drawing Figures DISPLAY BASE The present invention relatesto knock-down pedestal bases as frequently used to support tables,barbecue grills, hat stands and particularly display racks. The presentinvention is particularly directed to knock-down bases for display rackswhich can be set up with only one securing means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The merchandising of many items todayinvolves the use of display racks upon which the goods of the vendor aredisplayed. These racks are generally given to the store owner or sold atcost in order to induce the store owner to provide floor space for therack in the store. Therefore, display racks must be as inexpensive aspossible while still being functional.

Display racks must also be adapted to be set up as quickly as possible.In one merchandising situation involving display racks, a jobber orsalesman induces a storeowner to allow him to set up his display rack inthe store. The jobber or salesman must then set up the display rack andstock it with merchandise. The amount of time required to set up adisplay affects the number of calls a salesman can make in a day. Themore quickly a display rack can be placed in a store, the sooner thesalesman can make another call. For salesmen on commission, it isextremely desirable to have display racks which can be quickly andeasily set up.

In another merchandising situation, the salesman provides the rack forthe storeowner to set up as a merchandising assist. These racks areusually delivered by parcel delivery services and not the salesmanhimself. If the setting up of the merchandising rack is complicated, thestoreowner will not use the rack. Storeowners tend to avoid the use ofany merchandising gadget which is complicated, difficult and timeconsuming to set up.

As a further item, the cost of any display rack also includes the costof packaging. In todays packaging market, the cost of packaging largebulky items is rising due to the rising cost of packaging material.Packing costs can be kept at a minimum by keeping the size of the itemshipped at a minimum. Shipping costs are also an important considerationin relationship to the cost of the rack. Shipping costs are based onweight and volume. It is therefore also desirable to provide displayracks which can be shipped at a minimum of cost by maintaining the sizeof the package at a minimum.

INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, there is provided aknock-down edestal base for display racks particularly adapted to be setup with only one securing means comprising a central member, and twopairs of similar leg members, each leg including a vertically disposedsection and an outwardly or substantially horizontal extending footsection, the vertically disposed sections of one pair of legs beingsecured to the central member and aligned in the same plane; the secondpair of legs including lug means adapted for securing one end of thevertically disposed sections of the second pair of legs to the centralmember in a plane other than that of the first pair of legs and a singlesecuring means for securing the other end of the vertically disposedsections of the second pair of legs to the central member. For strengthand stability, the horizontally extending foot sections preferablyterminate with a downwardly extending vertical portion. The base can bequickly set up by attaching the second pair of legs to the centralmember by means of the lug means and then secured in place by the singlesecuring means. Other features and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent in connection with the drawings and thedescription thereof:

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled base andrack of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the legs in knocked-down position.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines of 3-3 of FIG. 1.

In the drawing, reference numerals will be used to denote like parts orstructural features in the different views. Referring particularly tothe drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present inventionas applied to a pedestal type display rack 10.

The display rack comprises a rack portion 11, a central supporting shaft12 and a display base 13. As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the displaybase 13 is composed of two sets of legs denoted as 14 and l4, l5 and15'. The legs themselves are further comprised of an upstanding portion16 and a floor rest horizontally disposed section 17. Preferably, thehorizontally disposed section 17 is terminated with a downwardlyextending vertical section 17'. The pair of legs 15 and 15 are attachedto a central upright preferably tubular member 18 by means of nuts andbolts 19 and 19 though any securing means can be used.

The legs 15 and 15' are aligned in the same plane. The central member 18is provided with two aperture 20 and 20'. The second pair of legs 14 and14' are provided with lug means 21 and 21 which are adapted to fit intothe apertures 20 and 20'. A single securing means such as a bolt 22 andwing nut 23 can then be used to secure the second set of legs in a planeto the first set of legs to provide the pedestal display base.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the lug means 21 and 21 prevent the upper partof the leg from moving in a lateral direction. The bolt and wing nut 22and 23 respectively is then all that is required to secure the secondpair of legs to the central member 18.

As shown in the drawings, the lug means 21 and 21' are dowel pinssecured to the vertical portion of the leg. While the use of dowel pinsas a type of lug means is preferred, other means such as stamped outhooks from the side of the tube member and/or a centrally positioneddowel pin extending through the central member and the like can also beused. It is to be understood that the term lug means is intended toinclude any lug type securing means which are adapted to perfonn thesame functions as that of the dowel pins illustrated. The securing meansfor the second pair of legs while preferably being a bolt and nut canalso include a ring encompassing all four legs which when pushed downforms a frictional type of attachment. The term bolt and nut is intendedto include double heat studs and capnuts, dowel and compression caps, aswell as a bolt or screw which can be threadedly secured to the baseitself.

It is also preferable that the lug means be positioned at the top of thevertically disposed leg member with the securing beneath the same forstrength. The positioning can be reversed but downward forces on thelegs will tend to bend the legs outwardly with the possibility that thepin or lug means will become disengaged from the aperture in the centralmember. The lug means acts only as an aligning means. The securing means(nut and bolt) takes all the downward pressure, thus a relatively weaklug positioned at the upper part of the leg is all that is necessary tokeep the legs in their proper places. The expense of providing more thanone strong securing means is thereby avoided.

Referring particularly to FIG. 2, one preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is a four membered pedestal base having one pair oflegs 15 and 15' attached at the factory to a central tubular supportmember 18. This factory prepared assembly has as its dimensions thelength of the two legs plus the central member, the height of thecentral member and the downward extending portion of the leg member andthe width or depth equal to the diameter of the metal tubing to form thelegs. The second pair of legs 14 and 14 containing the lugs 21 and 21can be nestled up against the assembly so that any shipping package mustonly be as thick as the width of the tubing and as long as the legs.This greatly reduces the size of the package for the display base andthe amount of packaging material required for shipping.

It is preferred that a unit of the type shown in FIG. 2 be preassembledat the factory. It is also in the scope of the present invention toprovide two pairs of leg members each having lug means and securingmeans as has been discussed in connection with leg members 14 and 14'.Securement of the second pair of legs having the lug means would be inthe same manner for the first pair of legs having lug means.

The centrally disposed member 18 of the display base 13 is of a sizeadapted to accept either interiorly or exteriorly a central supportingshaft 12 for the display rack 11. The display rack is preferably capableof being broken down in pieces for ease of shipping. The supportingshaft could have the display rack attached directly thereto though thisis less preferred.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, the central supporting shaft is adapted to befitted inside the tubular member 18 and allowed to rest upon the lugs 20and 21. The adaption of the central supporting shaft to fit the base canbe accomplished by using various interfitting tubing sizes or bymechanical compression or expansion of the tube end to provide thedesired fit. While it is most convenient to have a sliding fit, screwthread and other such means of securement can be used to attach thecentral support shaft to the base. The central supporting shaft isprovided with apertures along its longitudinal axis to allow for theadjustable positioning of various types of rack means. The rack meanscan be formed on a tubular member of a size slightly larger in diameterthan equivalent to the central support shaft 12. Adjusting the height ofthe exterior tube member can be easily accomplished by the use of adoubleheaded pin 24. The two heads are so spaced as to provide anopening there between equivalent and preferably slightly larger than thewidth of the sidewall of the rack supporting tube member. The wall ofthe tube to which the rack is attached is forced down in the openingbetween the two heads. The pin is then locked into place and cannot bedislodged or accidentally removed. The rack must be lifted in order toremove the pin discouraging removal of the pin by inquisitive children.The use of the double headed pin is particularly advantageous when theapertures in the central support shaft have been provided by stamping orpunching. The punching provides a peripheral indentation at the site ofthe hole into which one of the heads can rest.

Any suitable material can be used for making the various parts orelements. Preferably, and for economy, tubular aluminum or like materialhas been found to be most advantageous though square tubes and solidmembers can be used if desired. It is understood that the various partscan be made in various shapes or sizes as needed or desired. Forexample, the downwardly extending portion of the leg member can beomitted if the angle between the upwardly extending part of the leg andthe outwardly extending part of the leg is increased from 90 to about 1l. The central member can be essentially square with the sides indentedto accept round legs. All these variations are within the scope of thepresent invention. Other variations of the device of the inventioninclude the use of leveling means in the feet of the leg members andrubber, plastic or metal caps on the leg ends and other open tubemembers to improve appearance and safety. Signs and other advertisingcan be inserted in the top of the central support member to drawcustomer attention to the products displaced on the rack.

The present invention has been illustrated with a detachable centralsupporting means for the rack. This is the preferred embodiment for theconvenience of shipping. However, the central tubular member 18 canobviously be extended to such height as is required to support thedisplay rack. The display rack as is shown in FIG. 1 is a simple coatrack type of device.

Obviously other display racks extending out to support various types ofhanging goods, multiple shelves or other types of products can be used.

The display base is generally utilized by the salesman by setting up thebase in the shop and transporting same in a vehicle to the saleslocation or by transporting a packaged container of the display base.After obtaining permission from the store owner for the necessary floorspace for the display rack, the salesman can easily assemble the rack byattaching the legs 14 and 14 to the preassembled leg unit as shown inFIG. 2.

The lu means 20 and 21 are inserted into the apertures 20 and 2 in thecentral member 18. The securing means illustrated by the bolt 22 andwing nut 23 is then used to secure the legs to the central member.

The central supporting member is then inserted into the base and therack slid over the central support. The double headed pin is positionedon the central supporting member and the rack allowed to rest thereon.The rack is then filled with the vendors merchandise.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the presently preferredembodiment of the invention as is not to be limited to the details ofconstruction herein described other than as defined in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved knock-down pedestal display base comprising a centralmember and two pairs of similar leg members, each leg member including avertically disposed section and an outwardly extending foot section, thevertically disposed sections of one pair of leg members being adapted tobe secured to the central member and aligned in the same plane, thesecond pair of leg members including lug means adapted for securing oneend of the vertically disposed sections of the second pair of legmembers to the central member in a plane other than that of the firstpair of leg members, and securing means for securing the other end ofthe vertically disposed sections of the second pair of leg members tothe said central member.

2. A display base as recited in claim 1 wherein said first pair of legmembers is secured to the said central member.

3. A display base as recited in claim 1 wherein the outwardly extendingfoot sections are terminated with downwardly extending verticalsections.

4. A display base as recited in claim 1 wherein said lug means arepositioned on the upper portion of said vertically disposed section ofsaid leg members and the securing means is positioned between the saidlug means and said outwardly extending foot section.

5. A display base as recited in claim 1 wherein said lug means are dowelpins adapted to be fitted into substantially circular apertures in saidcentral member.

6. A display base and rack unit comprising the display base of claim 1and a display rack supported by a centrally disposed supporting memberbeing held in an upright position by the said central member of saiddisplay base.

7. A display base and rack unit as recited in claim 6 wherein saiddisplay rack is mounted on means to allow the adjustable positioning ofsaid rack on said support member.

8. A display base and rack as recited in claim 7 wherein said supportmember is apertured and said adjustable positioning means is a doubledheaded pin member adapted to be inserted in said apertures forsupporting said rack on said support member.

1. An improved knock-down pedestal display base comprising a centralmember and two pairs of similar leg members, each leg member including avertically disposed section and an outwardly extending foot section, thevertically disposed sections of one pair of leg members being adapted tobe secured to the central member and aligned in the same plane, thesecond pair of leg members including lug means adapted for securing oneend of the vertically disposed sections of the second pair of legmembers to the central member in a plane other than that of the firstpair of leg members, and securing means for securing the other end ofthe vertically disposed sections of the second pair of leg members tothe said central member.
 2. A display base as recited in claim 1 whereinsaid first pair of leg members is secured to the said central member. 3.A display base as recited in claim 1 wherein the outwardly extendingfoot sections are terminated with downwardly extending verticalsections.
 4. A display base as recited in claim 1 wherein said lug meansare positioned on the upper portion of said vertically disposed sectionof said leg members and the securing means is positioned betwEen thesaid lug means and said outwardly extending foot section.
 5. A displaybase as recited in claim 1 wherein said lug means are dowel pins adaptedto be fitted into substantially circular apertures in said centralmember.
 6. A display base and rack unit comprising the display base ofclaim 1 and a display rack supported by a centrally disposed supportingmember being held in an upright position by the said central member ofsaid display base.
 7. A display base and rack unit as recited in claim 6wherein said display rack is mounted on means to allow the adjustablepositioning of said rack on said support member.
 8. A display base andrack as recited in claim 7 wherein said support member is apertured andsaid adjustable positioning means is a doubled headed pin member adaptedto be inserted in said apertures for supporting said rack on saidsupport member.